Adrius Library
The Adrius Library is New Lordaeron's largest collection of literature and knowledge. The library is situated in the upper city of Tyr's Hand. Despite its size and meaning, it is fairly young and was constructed during Tyr's Hand's rapid expansion and population boom in 219 BAC. Etymology Adrius Library was named after its main sponsor and initiator, Bishop Ephraim Adrius, Bishop of Tyr's Hand at the time. The comparably liberal and open bishop was inspired by a culture of the wealthy to not only know the teachings of the light, but to broaden their horizon on many fields. Bishop Adrius never saw his project finished, having surprisingly passed away in 223 BAC under unknown circumstances. History Construction and Golden Age The Adrius Library was planned in 231 BAC and construction was started in the same year. It was planned out to be a prestigious building and rival Capital City's expansive libraries, and to give the aristocracy a hint of Capital City luxury. After 12 years of construction the Library was completed in 219 BAC. Several spending cuts and changes to the plan extended construction time greatly, though in the end the Adrius Library stood and was one of Tyr's Hand's most cherished landmarks. At the time of it's completion the Adrius Library held a total of 45,000 books and scrolls in two large halls, and had a private auditorium, an athenaeum, four study rooms, and an extensive walled garden with a small amphitheater and three tholoi. Until the Westland Plague the Adrius Library was used by the wealthy not only for reading, but as a social meeting point, greatly due to it having the largest and most opulent garden in the city. During the Westland Plague in 65 BAC much of the city's aristocracy and wealth left. The city itself was near bankrupcy and the library was functioned into a hospital of sorts. In that time the library suffered minor damage to its collection and the decay of large areas of the garden. Scarlet Occupation and Early National During the Scarlet Occupation from 20 to 28 AC the library suffered extensive damage to the building and the collection. The zealous Scarlet Crusade destroyed up to 60% of the literary collection, skimming out works that they found 'heretical'. Works of select former bishops and aristocracts as well as the complete arstronomy, political, astrology, mythology, philosophy and almost complete thalassian collections were destroyed. Beyond that many elements of the building were deconstructed as fillings for the repair of the city fortifications. The garden area was used for innerurban agriculture and training grounds. When the Knights for the Restoration of Lordaeron occupied Tyr's Hand they found the almost unrecognizable ruin of the Adrius Library, stripped of most of its books and its beauty. Without the means to rebuild it, the library remained in this state until 31AC. Post-Civil War and Restoration The Adrius Library remained in its state of decay during the Civil War. After the Civil War and the short prosperous time before the Fourth War, several Borough-Lords and -Ladies along with charitable merchants and aristocrats funded the reconstruction of Adrius Library. Further donations and personal strive enabled the restocking of Adrius Library's shelves. In the Spring of 32AC the main hall of Adrius Library and its athenaeum, a tholos and two private studies were renovated and opened to the public once more. A scriptorium was added. Though not as large and opulent as it once was, the Adrius Library once again regained its status as one of the largest and most beautiful libraries of the Kingdom. Category:Places